What Lies Beneath
by NevynR
Summary: Uncovering a lead in the murder of Johanna Beckett, the gang find out more than they bargained for. The truth… Can they really handle it? How well do we really know them? Set months after the Season 3 cliff-hanger. SPOILERS: Knockout, Knockdown, etc.


**Title:**** What Lies Beneath.**

**Rating:**** T (mature themes****). ****English – Hurt / Comfort, Angst, Romance - Kate B. & Rick C**

**Summary:**** Uncovering a lead in the murder of Johanna Beckett, the gang find out more than they bargained for. The truth… Can they really handle it? How well do we **_**really**_** know them? Set some months after the Season 3 cliff-hanger. SPOILERS: Knockout, Knockdown, etc etc… basically any episode dealing with the Johanna Beckett case.**

**Disclaimer:**** all the usual. I don't own Castle, etc etc.**

**Author's Note:**** After such awesome feedback from you folks on my first fic in ages, the creative juices seem to have been flowing good and strong. This is yet another one that popped into my head almost fully written after a crappy night sleep. To be honest, I don't know why I am so mean to the characters, but I get the feeling it's something the writers themselves would probably consider... Feedback welcomed!**

**NevynR.**

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><p><strong>1:10pm Wednesday, 12<strong>**th**** Precinct Break Room**

"Beckett, I've been thinking…" Castle said, as they wandered towards the coffee machine for some much-needed caffeine. "I think we're looking at your mother's case all wrong."

Looking surprised, Beckett leaned against the doorframe while Castle worked his magic with the coffee. "How do you mean?" She asked, a puzzled frown forming.

"Well, we have been very focused on the specifics… from Lockwood, to Pulgatti, and the whole… 3rd cop thing." Seeing her frown, he went on. "I think we need to take a step back from it for a bit. Not drop the case, but look in a different direction… I am thinking we need to look more at other cases with a similar MO, see if we can get some kind of correlation, see if we can pick up any more traces of him that way. I just think we are looking so hard at your mom's case that we might be missing similar detail in other places, places they wont expect us to be looking, or might not have had a chance to cover up the loose ends as well." A startled grin tugging at her lips, Beckett accepted her hot cup of coffee from her partner, drank an appreciative mouthful, and replied,

"Castle, sometimes you amaze me. I guess we haven't really looked into any of the other cases since we started to follow real live leads for the first time in years. Didn't your friend find another couple of murders around the same time with the same MO when you went poking around in the case before I let you in on it?"

"Yeah, a couple, but I am thinking about casting the net a bit wider than that actually…"

"How much wider? What are you getting at, Castle?"

"Well, I was watching Discovery Channel the other night, this awesome episode on jaguars, when I got to thinking… We have been looking so hard at tracking this one particular animal, nose to the ground and all that, trying to find such a specific set of tracks. Why not try lifting our heads a bit, and just looking around the jungle a bit for _any_ jaguar tracks, or even poke around a bit in other jungles…? Given the way these guys do their thing, I bet if we looked for unsolved murders in just about any major city, we'll find a track or two where they have been… People like that aren't limited to just one city, why wouldn't they have done the same thing to people that got in their way in other places…?" Shocked, Beckett closed her eyes, her mind whirling as the considered the possibilities: More victims, more evidence, more chances that somewhere, just possibly, there was a chance the bad guys had slipped up, and left something they could be hunted down by.

"Castle, that's probably the best idea I have heard since I got out of the hospital! The next question is: how do we go about getting that kind of information without alerting them? If they get any idea we are changing tack on this one, I don't like our chances of getting out of this without another attempt on any one of us."

"Well, I have had a couple of ideas about that as well. I immediately discarded going through proper channels, there'd be nothing surer to raise little red flags than an official request from one PD to another. I was thinking we could try doing it in plain sight."

"Huh? Castle, will you please be serious with this? Do you _want_ to get shot?"

"Of course not, just hear me out, Beckett. What I was thinking that once we get some idea of which cities we'll start looking in, and I can have a chat to Paula. We'll forgo the whole police line, and go on a book signing tour of the cities we've picked. I only have another few chapters left to write in the next manuscript, so making the rounds is perfectly reasonable for me, almost expected even. I think I can get the Captain to agree to a couple of weeks off for you, so you can come along as well. The extra attention from the media if Nikki Heat is along as well will only help to cover up what we are really up to. We can put in the obligatory couple of hours every few days in the bookstores and the like, and the rest of the time we'll be free to go digging for clues." Pausing briefly, he savoured a few mouthfuls of coffee, before continuing. "Being a nosy writer is a great cover, because I'm not really acting. I can get away with things like asking all kinds of questions of all kinds of people, all under the guise of 'research', as you should well know, Detective." An he grinned impish grin as he teased her. "Although a few precautions might be necessary this time, just to make sure nothing untoward happens with the fans at the signings… The last thing we want is for one of the bad guys to slip in and try again, so I'll see to it that we have round the clock protection."

"Castle, I think a protective detail would be a little obvious, don't you? I'm not saying we don't need one, but it's not exactly low-key…"

"Ah, Detective, you mistake me. Given our recent history, I am proposing to use outside resources for this one, we have no idea how far the tentacles of the beast might reach, even inside the police department as yet, so I was going to get the best private close-personal security firm in to watch our backs. They guys I know are the ones that come highly recommended, very quiet, very unobtrusive, and lots of experience with this kind of thing… they do diplomatic protection in the Middle East, amongst other things. Not cheap, by any stretch of the imagination, buy as it's work related, at least as far as my work is concerned, I'll get the publishing house to pick up the tab for it. You don't need to worry about me splashing around wads of money to keep us safe, Beckett. If you are up for it, you'll get to follow me around at work for a couple of weeks, asking annoying questions and generally bugging me while I work for a change. What do you think?"

"You are crazy, Castle, but you might have something there… How bad do you think the crowds are going to be?"

"Well, honestly, I'm not sure this time around, Beckett… The last tour was pretty big, but since then, there's been all the movie promotional material out, carefully crafted 'script leaks' from Paula, an not to mention the media frenzy that happened when you got shot… I get the feeling this one will be bigger than usual. I just hope the fans are well behaved this time round." A twinkle in his eye, he cast his mind briefly back to a selection of the wackier things that had happened on previous tours, before his reverie was cut off.

"So, not anything like the LA launch for Gathering Storm? Because I don't think we need…" Castle cut her off, looking a bit shocked.

"That was a one-off, Beckett, and we managed to keep that… hang on! Paula kept a pretty tight lid on the publicity on that one, other than the diehard fans on the website, almost nobody who wasn't there knew about… Beckett, please tell me you weren't there when a screaming horde of fan-girls got into a catfight in the middle of the store!"

A rosy blush rapidly sweeping up her cheeks, she frantically thought for a second, trying to figure out how the hell she was supposed to talk her way out of that one, then decided to throw caution to the winds. He already _knew_ what had happened, hell he'd been there after all. "Ok, Castle, so I was there. And it _so_ wasn't my fault! I had been in line for _ages_, and that snooty blonde just cut in... She elbowed her way in, smoothed her dress down, and adjusted her... well, herself to show a bit more, and just expected everybody to let her in because she had an impressive chest!" Her words sped up as she lowered her voice in embarrassment, almost hoping that he wouldn't hear the rest as she blurted out the rest of the tale. "So I might have just tapped her heel as she stepped forward, I didn't mean anything by it, just wanted her to stumble a bit, loose her cool, you know. I didn't expect her to completely lose her balance and fall into the rest of the line!"

Gob-smacked, Castle could only stare at her, as he came to the understanding that not only had Kate just admitted to being a fan-girl from _waaaay _back, but she was at the wildest book signing he'd ever had, and she'd actually _started_ the whole damn riot! His mind whirling, he frantically thought back to the event, searching the memories he knew were in there. The falling blonde had only been two or three places from the head of the line, he _had_ to have seen Beckett there... yes! He was almost floored when he realised which one she'd been. A wicked smile forming, he quipped back, "It's ok, Beckett. You know, you never did get that book signed. If you still have the book, I'll make it up to you... I'll sign it for you, on one condition..."

By now, Beckett's face was a flaming red as she stood there, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "I _think_ I might still have it somewhere... What's the catch, Castle?"

"I'll do it for you, providing you wear that emerald green top, those faded jeans and strappy little heels you were wearing on the day..."

"Castle! How the hell? That was _years_ ago, and you must have seen thousands of fans at book signings over the years... How on earth can you remember what I was wearing?"

"Well, I looked up as soon as I saw the commotion, I looked up from the book I was signing and I saw the blonde falling, and behind her was this stunning brunette in a green top, clutching my latest best-seller to her chest, and her mouth open in a perfect little 'O' of surprise as the whole damn shop dissolved into chaos around me. Trust me, Beckett, that's one image I remember very vividly. If I had thought, even for one second, that I'd meet her again...? I am still having trouble believing it was you... God, you were so young! You can't have been much more than what, nineteen? Twenty?"

"Um, yeah... Nineteen, just. The week before, actually." Biting her lip briefly, she looked down at the floor for a second before meeting his eyes. "You got a deal, Castle. But if this ever gets out, let's just say that what some of those girls looked like when they got carried off will be nothing on what you look like when I am through with you, are we clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Now that we have that major embarrassment from my past behind us, we can discuss the timing of the tour." Shaking her head in amazement that she not only agreed with the idea, but that she actually found the idea strangely thrilling, Beckett wondered if that damned man had any idea how mortified she'd been on that fateful day. Finding a distraction in finishing her cooling coffee, she asked a little too casually, "So, purely in the interests of nailing down my work schedule for the next couple of months, Castle, you wouldn't be able to give me some kinda ball-park timeframe for you finishing the next book, would you?"

A chuckle slid from his mouth as he looked up at possibly his most embarrassed fan to-date as he replied, "Now, Beckett... You will just have to wait like everybody else. Although if you can restrain yourself from twisting my ears until it's finished, I might just be persuaded to sneak you a copy of the manuscript before it goes off to Paula. I suppose it's only fair to let you get a sneak preview before the rest of the worlds, since you make such an inspiring Muse, eh?" Finishing his coffee, he gestured for her to lead the way back down the hall to the bull-pit. Mentally beating back the smart-ass remarks that fought to spill from his mouth, he managed to switch his voice come out almost normal, saying, "If we don't have too many more bodies drop in the next couple of weeks, the end of the month is looking pretty good though. I'll see what I can thrash out with the Captain" A slightly worried look crossed his face as he contemplated how he intended to persuade the new Captain to allow him to steal the best detective in the whole NYPD off for a couple of weeks, when she hadn't been back on duty from her shooting for more than three months.

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><p>Author's Note: Ok folks, this one is probably going to go one for.. erm, a bucketload of chapters, so i thought I'd clip them down into something manageable. They will be posted pretty much as soon as I get each chapter done. Fair warning: this one is about as light and fluffy as they get.<p> 


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